There is a native speaking teacher advertising his services on here for 80 rmb/hr. Or groups of up to 4 for 100 (i.e. 25 each).

Is it just me or is this way to low. It does kinda make it hard for the rest of us to earn a living when people are being soft.

I am charging almost double this for individuals. Out of interest, what are you other guys charging for groups (you can PM me if you want to keep it confidential). I don't want to undercut anybody, if anything I would like to push rates up.

Not trying to start a Cartel either, but rates have not really moved in years, but rent, food, etc, has shot up in recent years.

I agree. I sent him an e-mail. I said that 80 yuan was back in 2006! Everything is going up. It's sad that English schools still want to pay you 100 yuan an hour to deal with a bunch of unruly kids. 150-200 should be the normal now and even higher depending on your qualification and experience. Just my 2 cents.

¥300-500 per hour depending on weekdays, travel, and other elements of discomfort. Gets rid of the riff raff and ensures the parents are genuinely interested in their child's (or self) pathway towards written and spoken fluency.

Yep, 300-500 kuai per hour gets rid of the riff raff, and ensures that only spoiled rich kids will have access to native English speakers. Way to play your part in the entrenchment of social inequality.

300-500? for what? foreigners from the "west" who have absolutely no teaching credentials and qualifications to actually teach? your "white" skin doesn't give you any right to charge someone over 100RMB/hour as a matter of fact, you shouldn't be getting money to teach at all!

150-300 is shanghai area. consider your locations, it's kunming! normal rate for a even qualified teacher should be 100-150. most of you probably don't even have a bachelor's degree which is pitiful 'cause your all probably over 25 years old. those who do teach with bachelor's my take my hats off for you.

I think 80RMB an hour is WAY too cheap, but I think 300-500RMB an hour is a pipe dream. I would love to get that much, but there is no way you are getting someone to give you that much—least not in KM.

I laugh with jingstwat at the idea of people wanting that much and probably not even having a bachelor's degree. I am sure there are plenty here who think their white skin and English being their L1 makes them an English teacher. There is a little more than that to it.

Anyways, I have a Master's in ESL with three years of teaching experience. What should I get an hour?

I would welcome a face to face debate with anyone who thinks potential students are 'riff raff' just because their parents can't afford 300 - 500 RMB an hour.

On the other side, it's the families who are financially well off not the children. The latter shouldn't automatically be branded 'spoilt rich kids'.

I have had cause to enlist help in preparing students for English language tests. On two occasions these helpers were non-native English speakers, chosen because their English, and motivation to teach, was of a higher standard than that of the native speakers who applied.

High time the language teaching market in Kunming was better regulated in order to eliminate the charlatans and parasites who feed off of the vulnerable. If this was done then the issue of remuneration for quality teaching would be much less of an issue.

@Jingstwat
"...most of you probably don't have a bachelor's..." What absolute twaddle. In my 8 years, and several cities, in China I have only met one teacher who did not have a bachelor's degree. I have in fact met many with more than one degree. And there are also teachers with education degrees.

Not all teachers here have good TEFL qualifications, but many do have recognised qualifications like TESOL and CELTA.

In Kunming, all the teachers I have met are well qualified and experienced. I work at three institutions here.

Regards Shanghai, the market in Shanghai is mature and there is a lot of competition, but I was charging 450 when I was there in 2006. Kunming does not have the level of competition.

Local rates are what you can get. You should see what some parents pay for classes at some of the local language centres, for non-native speaker teachers.

If you work for a local school and they only pay 80/hr remember that they are doing all the marketing for you, and paying other costs. These costs include rent, heating and light, printing/paper, photocopier, visa, etc. And they can usually give you a minimum number of hours.

If you work for yourself you have to absorb al these costs, and remember that you cannot guarantee a number of hours. People cancel on you. Additionally, it is not easy to go out and find over 60 hours worth of students per month. I say 60 hours because at 80/hr this will earn you just under 5000/m. I think 5000/m is reasonable in KMG. But getting 60hrs when freelancing (whilst teaching) is unlikely unless you employ someone, and that is a big cost.

@vearn & jingstwat (debatebly interesting screen name):
I have other things to do besides tutoring kids who are not interested in learning a foreign language they will probably never use. Those allegedly outrageous rates are specifically designed to politely say, "No" to the frequent inquiries I receive to tutor. My time is better spent doing my part to "resolve the entrenchment of social inequality" and structuring benefits to rural area societies. Kudos to Salvadors for their admirable work in this field.

It's impolite to say, "No", so the asian way to say "No" is to ask for rates significantly higher than the norm, so all can allegedly save face. The rates are designed to get rid of ALL requests to tutor. So far it's been reasonably successful - so I'd say ¥300-500 is definitely the upper limit of intolerance in Kunming, for now.

As for my allegedly unmitigated gall and stratospheric rates - the University recommended these rates on my behalf and screens the students for me, so the government seems to differ with certain individual perceptions of value.

As for where we live - I pay my ayi the same salary I paid my ayi in Beijing for poorer service, which is arguably ludicrous and offensive. She's overpaid and she knows it - but she's reliable, courteous, and honest and is slowly coming up to speed - which that ludicrous salary buys. The prices at KFC, MacDonalds, Pizza Hut, and soon, Starbucks, is the same here as in Beijing or Shanghai. Are they "white". Should they also be "out of business"?

Earn what the market will bear.

And...what's with this skin color thing? How gauche!

Laotau and Vearn.

Are you actually getting 300-500? I am not just being nosey.

Not being greedy, but it is worth having this discussion. Perhaps we should be putting our rates up. That way more of us 'lifers/long termers' can see the value of freelancing.

Why should some local businessman drive around in a Merc, earned from our efforts, while we are still on 1999 pay in 2011 rent zones?